Mike Leeder - The Business of Hong Kong Action (Action Talks #38)

Mike Leeder is filmmaker and producer in Hong Kong whose work includes most Hong Kong films you’ve probably ever seen. We talk about his work as a journalist during the heyday of Hong Kong action, the insane drive of Hong Kong filmmakers and stars, and the differences between HK, Korean, and Japanese action. You can see his imdb here: and his HKMDB here: Edited by Milan Swagers Action Talks on YouTube: Action Talks on Spotify: Action Talks on iTunes: Telegram: My studio SuperAlloy: Blog: 0:00:58 Introductions 0:02:21 Moving to Hong Kong 0:05:33 Hong Kong in the 90’s 0:13:27 Mike’s easy access to Hong Kong stars 0:23:29 International appeal of Hong Kong action 0:30:31 Hong Kong breaking into other industries 0:44:25 Hong Kong Stars and the Japanese market 0:53:39 Hong Kong audiences 0:58:37 Censorship 1:13:34 The Hong Kong handover 1:15:23 Financial complications of the Handover 1:17:00 Hong Kong spontaneity 1:21:18 Japan 1:26:11 Korean stuntman in Hong Kong 1:42:28 Korean Films inspired by Hong Kong 1:47:28 Working with inexperienced stunt performers 1:55:12 Nicholas Tse’s drive 2:02:29 Copying choreography 2:07:56 Authenticity in Action 2:33:34 Stunt doubles 2:42:18 Shooting Fight Scenes takes time 2:43:49 On Pre-Viz and casting problems 2:53:37 On new potential industries 3:04:04 Political correctness 3:15:57 Preservering original copies of films 3:25:48 Closing thoughts